US STOCKS-S&P 500 dips as healthcare declines counter tech gains

(Updates to market close)
* Trade hopes muddied after mixed messages from Mnuchin,
Trump
* Micron jumps after upbeat forecasts; chip stocks rise
* Crude prices lift energy stocks
* General Mills falls on disappointing sales
* Dow off 0.04%, S&P 500 down 0.12%, Nasdaq up 0.32%

By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended lower on
Wednesday as gains in technology stocks were offset by a drop in
healthcare shares, and investors parsed mixed messages over
prospects for a deal to end a trade war between the United
States and China.
Technology shares led the Nasdaq higher while the Dow Jones
Industrial average posted a nominal loss.
U.S. stocks struggled for direction throughout the session
as market participants pondered whether a planned meeting
between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Japan would yield any
progress in the two country's protracted tariff dispute.
The market initially perked up after U.S. Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin was quoted by CNBC interview as saying the trade
deal between the United States and China is "about 90%"
complete. His comments were later restated to show he was using
the past tense to describe progress in the talks. Trump later said that while it was "absolutely possible" to
avoid imposing additional tariffs on imported Chinese goods, he
was "very happy where we are now." "(Trade) optimism has been unwound as the day has gone on,"
said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone
Wealth LLC in New York.
"Last week the market had a clear path of what to focus on:
A rate cut in July and Trump and Xi meeting at the G20 to
discuss reopening trade negotiations," Pavlik added. "What has
happened since is this government has muddied the waters and
confused the market."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 11.4 points, or
0.04%, to 26,536.82, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.6 points, or
0.12%, to 2,913.78 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 25.25
points, or 0.32%, to 7,909.97.
A rise in crude prices LCOc1 boosted energy stocks
.SPNY . Energy and tech companies .SPLRCT were the biggest
percentage gainers among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500,
while defensive utilities .SPLRCU , real estate .SPLRCR and
consumer staples .SPLRCS saw the largest losses.
Chipmakers led the tech rally. The Philadelphia SE
Semiconductor index .SOX rose 3.2% after Micron Technology Inc
MU.O posted upbeat results and forecast a recovery in chip
demand. Micron's shares jumped 13.3%. Apple Inc AAPL.O shares advanced 2.2% after the iPhone
maker confirmed that it bought self-driving startup Drive.ai
and after Trump suggested in an interview that the
European Union was out of line with its lawsuits against U.S.
tech firms, saying that the United States was the one that
should be taking action. EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday hit Broadcom AVGO.O
with demands that the chipmaker drop its exclusivity clauses
with TV and modem makers as part of its ongoing investigation.
Nevertheless, Broadcom's shares gained 1.8%
General Mills Inc GIS.N was the biggest percentage loser
on the S&P 500, dropping 4.5% after the packaged food company
missed quarterly sales estimates, hit by lower snacks demand in
North America. In economic news, new orders for non-defense capital goods
rose more than economists expected in May, suggesting some
stabilization in business spending, which had shown signs of
weakness amid trade jitters and bloated inventories. But overall
orders for durable goods dropped, driven by a 28.2% plunge in
non-defense aircraft orders, partly due to Boeing's move to cut
production of its troubled 737 MAX aircraft.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.08-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.03-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 7 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 21 new highs and 94 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.69 billion shares, compared
to the 6.99 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days.